Floods displace thousands across Sri Lanka
Incessant rain that has affected Sri Lanka over the past few weeks, displacing thousands of residents, finally showed signs of easing over the weekend.
Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides across the country with the eastern districts of Badulla, Ampara and Batticaloa worst affected. However, the Mannar district in northwest Sri Lanka has also suffered from severe flooding with 50,000 people affected. The flooding has caused serious damage in these areas, both to infrastructure and agriculture.
Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with monsoon rains. These bring two distinct periods of heavy rain across the country. From May to October the southwest monsoon brings moisture-laden air from the Indian Ocean. From December to March the northeast monsoon brings moisture-laden air from the Bay of Bengal.
While the northeast monsoon would normally be drawing to a close, forecasters have attributed the recent heavy rains to a trough of low pressure which has also brought heavy rain and floods across southern parts of India.
Over this weekend the rains have eased and forecasters are now predicting drier conditions for the week ahead, other than some scattered showers in southern Sri Lanka.
